An Enigmatic Past
by Trukero
Summary: A young hedgehog with a rare blood disease is forced to work under a mercenary group to find the secret to his cure.
1. Chapter 1

**An Enigmatic Past**_ (Part 1, the interview)_

_The air is cold, the room is dark; the only light source is a lantern. All of the windows are boarded up for privacy and to give appearance of the building being rundown. There are four people; two stand outside guarding the room, not from the outside, but from what might happen on the inside. One of the people is a crimson hedgehog clothed in completely in black including a long trench coat. Under the coat lays a 9mm pistol fully loaded, with the safety switch off. The other person is just a plain newspaper reporter._

"I see that you've been wanting to meet with me for a little over a year now, is this correct?" The hedgehog asks in a very unemotional mood.

"Yes, I have. It's been quite a dream of mine to meet with the very person who's organization sent him to kill 34 people at the G.U.N. research lab on Prison Island just to retrieve information on the Space Colony Arc." the reporter answers.

"So I see, well I'll start by telling you that that mission gave us no further information to what we were looking for. The people who died just happened to be in the way and are to be considered collateral damage."

"How common of any mercenary group, just cold and heartless. Well may I ask you your name?"

"My name is Rane, it pertains no importance to me anymore. It's just my title."

"So I see. My next question is simple how did you come about joining this group?"

"They found me, at the time I was just barely surviving on the streets of Westopolis. I had lost all of my money and was probably going to die. They said the reason they were looking for me is because I pertained to some important mission of theirs'. Apparently, it had to do with my father, at the time I could care less, since he'd left when I was two and I'd never really known him. I really had no focus in life, but they gave me one. I do work for them and they keep me alive. That's all that matters."

"How was life before the Organization found you?"

"Mostly just living in the Mystic Ruins, didn't really do anything there except go to school and work at home. I only lived there for ten years after my father had left, so that's all I really did. I moved out of there once I turned 13 to go to Westopolis and find people to help me do research on a disease. I was a technical specialist in terms of computers, so I knew how to help out any medical researcher when dealing with specific programs used to develop the cure."

"I see, so why were you searching for a cure?"

"It's how my mother died and I'm led to believe that it might be hereditary. So I want to find the cure to the disease, so it doesn't kill me."

"I see, but if you ran away from home then how did you know that your mother died."

"I've returned once before joining the Organization, she had died only two days before I got there. They didn't even hold a funeral, she was buried and that was the end of it. I actually knew she'd had the disease and knew that her chance of survival was minimal. That's why I began work early when I went to Westopolis and that's one of the few things the Organization gives me, the funding to do the research and the equipment and medical staff."

"Well, we can end today, I think you've supplied plenty of information for me to overlook. Though I would like to delve further into your involvement with the Organization. That can wait until tomorrow "

The interviewer is escorted out of the room and blindfolded. After that he is moved to a secure location at another point in the building. Still in the room, Rane just decides to fall asleep in his chair waiting to see what the interviewer will ask tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

**An Enigmatic Past **(_Part 2. the beginning: A week before the interview_)

_Inside the G.U.N. research laboratory on Prison Island, Rane and two other members, one is an echidna, the other is a hawk, and all of them await their orders for a surprise attack. Rane holds a suppressed 9mm pistol, while the other two carry sub-machine guns. No guards are present, only the scientists in the room are. The computers are being shutdown, but as the shutdown is taking place, Rane and the others jump out from underneath the darkness._

"Stop what you're doing and get on the ground! Also hand over any form of security clearance and or any other form of personal I.D.!" Rane yells as he holds his fully loaded pistol to the back of one of the scientists' heads.

"Sir I can't access the computer databases without one of them." Says the hawk.

"You!" Rane shouts directly at the scientist his gun is held to, "Give me the codes."

"I would rather die, then give…" the scientist is stopped as a bullet is put through his head.

"Anyone else want to screw around?" Rane asks as he points his gun to one of the other two scientists.

Neither responds Rane nods his head to the echidna as he puts his pistol in his holster. Quickly his sub-machine gun goes off eliminating the other two scientists. As soon as the men drop, the sirens go off.

"Damn it, not enough time. Here take this, it should have a virus that will copy any information off of their computer mainframe while subsequently deleting all of it." Rane says as he tosses a flash drive to the hawk.

The flash drive is then entered. On the screen comes a dialog box stating INIATE PANDORA'S BOX? The user quickly left clicks and the virus is unleashed copying all of the information while deleting afterwards.

Once the information is copied, the hawk tosses the flash drive back, but unfortunately a guard unit of 6 men busts through and unleashes their fully automatic rifles on the lab. The hawk is killed in a matter of seconds, while Rane ducks under the tables and draws his 9mm back out. He then leaps up and puts two bullets straight through two of the guards chest killing them. The echidna unleashes his sub-machine gun on the rest of the group forcing them to drop to the floor. Once they're on the floor, Rane unleashes the rest of his clip killing the group of guards.

"I didn't come prepared for this, only brought two clips." Rane says as he picks up his former partner's sub-machine gun and puts his pistol away.

"We need to go, this is probably going to be one hell of an escape, so we shouldn't take too much time. All we need to do is get to the rendezvous point and the helicopter should be waiting." The echidna tells his partner.

"Where exactly is that?"

"I think they placed it at the top of this building and considering were on the 31st of the 38 floors that elevators goes to, we should be able to make it out of here in 15 minutes. Though, guard activity is going to be high considering the alarms and the fact that we just killed 9 men. I would actually expect one of their walkers to be there when we reach the top. That's ok though, I brought a high explosive grenade for this situation."

"Well, from what I read off the map before we came, that elevator is only 50 feet away. I don't think they're going to keep fighting on this floor, but I would expect the elevators to be shutdown. If so we'll need to climb the cable in the shaft all the way to the top."

As soon as Rane ends his sentence, they ran down the hallway. On their left was the elevator. Noticing that the doors were shut, the echidna placed a small plastic explosive, blowing the doors open. Appearing to be right, the two teammates grab onto the cable and began their climb.

About 20 minutes later they reach the top finding that elevator has been stopped above them. Rane reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a micro-welding tool. He then cuts a hole in the bottom just big enough for them to fit through.

They quickly shoot open the doors and find themselves on the rooftop. The area is covered with guards, approximately 20. All of them flash their lights and their guns on the two intruders.

"Drop your weapons, we have you surrounded. Come out unarmed and we won't shoot, otherwise your lives will be forfeit."

Rane jukes to the right to provide him cover; the echidna doe's the same on the opposite side. Both load their guns again and throw themselves out in the open firing off a few shots into the inexperienced grouped guards. 6 of them go down and the others scatter for what little cover there is. All of a sudden the sound of a walker could be heard its jump jets helping it to descent.

"Throw that grenade, if it has missiles we're dead. The smoke created by its destruction will give us a screen, we can then finish off the rest of them." Rane states while gripping his gun ever tighter.

The echidna pulls the pin, but as he reaches over to toss it he is hit by a sniper shot. Rane jumps into action, grabbing the grenade off the floor of his dead partner and throwing at the walker. He then hits the ground as the concussion from the blast throws him down. Getting up slowly he grabs his ex-partner's gun and puts it in his left hand. Holding both sub-machine guns, Rane runs outs and begins spraying as many of the guards as he could with sub-machine gun fire, almost killing the whole lot of them.

He then runs up a flight of stairs and races to the rendezvous point, though slowly from still being startled by the grenade concussion and being tired from his gung-ho attack against the guards. He sees the chopper, its blades are spinning, and someone comes off and helps him on board.

"Did you get the files?" the helicopter crewmember asks.

"Yeah, they're on this flash drive. We should get going, the others are dead and there's no use in wasting time." Rane expresses in a resolute tone.

Once everyone on board is seated and the doors are closed, the helicopter takes off. The lift of the helicopter takes away everyone's' sense of gravity as it hovers to it's destination. The location is a hidden base in the capital city.

After an hour-long ride, the helicopter begins its descent to the ground; a hangar at the top of a skyscraper opens up to seclude the location of the helicopter. It only takes 15 minutes to land it and shut it down. Rane leaves the sub-machine guns on board and only takes his pistol with him.

Now outside, Rane heads to an exit door and enters a hallway filled with offices. The hedgehog turns left and walks for about fifteen feet before turning into a door. At the desk is a man in a military styled uniform, he is currently typing on a computer.

"Specialist Rane, reporting for after mission report." The hedgehog says taking a seat in front of the desk.

"So did you retrieve the data?" the man asks.

"Yes sir, though the others are K.I.A."

"All that matters is the information has been retrieved. Those two were expendable, they knew it when they were ordered the assignment."

"Understood sir, anything else?"

"No, we'll analyze this and hand you the report tomorrow. Hopefully this information was worth the mission. I need the codes to get aboard the Ark; you need the codes so that you can use the technological advanced research facilities aboard. Just remember don't get carried away with your next mission. The pilot told me that at least twenty men at the top of the building you were just at were all killed. I don't need any more publicity."

"Yes sir, I'll keep that in mind."

The commander waved Rane off and the hedgehog was released back out into the hallway. Out there he went to the elevator only 10 feet away and went down to the basement where the barracks were located. Rane exited the elevator and went to his room, number 212. Once in, he turned off the lights and went to sleep.

The next morning Rane found the report on his desk. Making an overview of it, there was no newfound information in there. Just the same stuff available. No codes or information on what research was being done, besides the already known weapons and ultimate life form. He threw the report back on his desk and went through his files on his laptop, though the room was small. It still gave him just enough for one overhead light, a small desk, and his bed.

Looking through his files, he found a folder. It was labeled, ongoing research. It mostly contained known and discovered information on the disease he was researching. A lot of it was just theories, though the topics still gave small clues of a cure. Most of it had to do with finding a way to make new cells to kill off the ones contaminated. These new cells would provide better stability in Rane's already unstable bloodline. Once done looking over the unchanged files, Rane went to his folder containing his previous mission overviews. Although he'd only been in for 6 months now, he'd accumulated over 50 missions. Most dealing with intelligence gathering, though there was one assassination, it was a presidential candidate also a political enemy of the Organization; it went quite smoothly with no errors. Though none of the missions had ever gone as awry like the last one, most of them didn't deal with inexperienced group members or as undersized of a team. Most of the time Rane was out in the field with at least 5 other members, who were also specialist.

Overlooking the last of the overviews, Rane decided to go back to sleep, knowing he was probably on stand-by for another 2 weeks. He just fell right back into his bed and slept in a little more.


	3. Chapter 3

**An Enigmatic Past** (_Part 3. Before the Organization: 4 years before current time_)

_Inside a small village located on the outskirts of the Mystic Ruins jungle, a young Rane is packing away his personal items and preparing to leave at what is now 4 o'clock in the morning. Nobody in the village is awake except for the local watch. In Rane's bag are a laptop, 500 dollars in standard currency, and a couple of sandwiches. Before he leaves, the hedgehog drops a small note on his mother's bed stand. _

"Sorry mom, but I have to do this for both our sakes." Rane says to himself as he walks out the front door.

The hedgehog is alerted first to a young guardsman, he is barely older then Rane and also a hedgehog, but he is also smaller and inexperienced at his job. The guard draws his spear and holds it to Rane's face, looking to threaten the young hedgehog.

"Where do you plan on going, you know no one younger than 16 is permitted to be outside after the 10-6 curfew or even leave the village. Do you understand the penalty for being outside right now and attempting to leave?" The guard says as he holds the spear with a tighter grip.

"Yes, I know. I can be thrown in jail for two months for being out beyond curfew and exiled if I leave the village." Rane says with an arrogant tone, "But you know what, I'm going to leave and you aren't going to stop me."

Rane pulls the spear away from his face and throws the guard with his weapon to the ground. He then walks away, not worrying about the consequence for his actions. All he knows is his goal comes first and that's to save his dying mother and his possible future. He continues to walk, listening for the bell to start ringing, but it never comes. The inexperienced guard was too afraid to let the others' in his section know that he had failed at his job.

Only five hours out Rane decided to take a break, knowing that the mine cart that will lead him to the Mystic Ruins' train station isn't far away. As he's taking his break he pulls out a sandwich from his bag and begins eating it while still listening for any possible disturbance. Knowing the guard had probably got up and already told the others after being in shock for so long at what had happened. Knowing that his village had to protect their secrecy, they would send the top of the village soldiers to find Rane. They would definitely send elite soldiers, but not the Hyperior Clan. He knew they would do only what was necessary to take out someone like him. Halfway through his sandwich, a throwing knife whizzed past Rane's ears.

"So I see, you're finally here." Rane said aloud while dropping into his fighting stance while putting his bag inside a hollow log, "Well come on, I don't have all day for you to screw around."

Three hedgehogs come outside from the woods, each forming in a triangle around Rane. All of them are dressed in a black jumpsuit, along with that each carries a short katana and handful of throwing type weapons. The leader stands in front of Rane, a long robe over his jumpsuit. He is a yellow hedgehog with red eyes and is 7 years older than Rane.

"Come back to the village and you'll only serve half of your sentence." The leader says while clutching his katana.

"You speak lies, your only goal is to protect Cidjad." Rane says knowing that the fight he is about to be put in is putting his life in danger. Knowing that he can't win Rane thinks of a way in which he can escape his pursuers. Remembering the cave entrance with the mine cart is up a ladder only 2 miles north, Rane grabs his bag in which he'd put under the log earlier and hurls it over his back and begins making a sprint for the ladder.

One of the Cidjad elite jumps in front of Rane and tries to grapple onto the young hedgehog, but barely misses. Rane throws a punch to this member's face and knocks the hedgehog down giving a bloody nose. Knowing that he can't outrun the their leader, Rane throws himself behind a rock formation that is next to thick foliage. Watching as the other two pass him, Rane takes off northwest and towards his goal. Not wanting to get caught a second time Rane keeps low while moving.

Nearing the ladder Rane jumps into a pile of leaves nearby and waits for the clan members to pass by the way. Lying hidden for almost ten minutes, Rane finds it to be safe enough to get up. Just as he gets up, two balls of bluish purple chaos energy fly over his shoulders.

"This is your last chance, give yourself up or face an early death." Their leader says while powering up another ball of chaos.

"I think I'll take my chances." Rane says as he runs to his left side to avoid a future attack. Unable to fully avoid the blast of the oncoming chaos, Rane is thrown through a small tree and behind a large rock formation along with his belongings falling elsewhere in the jungle. Battered and bruised Rane falls over and passes out. Unable to see where the hedgehog had been thrown, the clan members accepted the fate he'd died and move back to help their fallen comrade.

Only an hour later, the young hedgehog woke up feeling battered and bruised. Though he ached, he got on his feet and began moving in the opposite direction he'd been thrown and back to the ladder. Finding his bag only ten feet away, Rane picked it up. It was torn up a little and the laptop appeared slightly damage, but the important thing was the money, which was virtually unaffected from the blast. He picked up the bag and slung it over his shoulder and continued to the ladder.

It only took him twenty minutes to get to where he'd thrown from and he was back at the ladder. It was a tall ladder that scaled a 75-foot cliff. Rane quickly clutched onto a bar on the ladder and began climbing. Half way up, Rane decided to take a look. He could see the treetops, but couldn't find Cidjad and that was because Cidjad had been strategically built on the outskirts and right on the edge of the tree line on the eastern side of the jungle. The only way to find the small village of only a 1,000 would be to roam the intense jungle of the Mystic Ruins until finding it by luck. Only those who'd lived there knew of it's existence could find it so easily. After seeing the sights for a few minutes, Rane continued his climb.

Making the final the step Rane was finally on top of the cliff. It was now noon and much time had been wasted fighting the elite soldiers. Rane saw the tunnel; it was large and on the edge stood a mine cart on a one-way track. Quickly Rane walked over to the cart and jumped in and hit a lever.

Soon he was carried through a series of twisting turns and taken through the dark tunnels at a speed of only twenty miles per hour. There was a quick dip in the ground as the cart went down a hill and rose back up. Only twenty minutes later Rane was brought to light and could see lake and towering cliffs on his left, but on his right he could groups of people standing outside a station. It was the Mystic Ruins train station; it was set on a wooden platform along with a brick support for the railroad tracks.

Rane climbed out of the cart and walked slowly to the station, it was only 500 yards out from his location. As he walked, a person stopped him by grabbing him on the shoulder.

"Hey you're a hedgehog too." The unknown figure said to him.

Rane turned around to see a blue hedgehog in red sneakers with green eyes. He was only an inch taller than Rane and look to be about his age, maybe a year younger.

"Yeah, so?" Rane said wanting to get over this conversation and head to his city of goal, Westopolis.

"Nothing, just that I've never seen another hedgehog before. Well nice meeting you and hope to see you again." He said taking off.

Rane kept moving onto the train station, it was weird though. Running into another hedgehog about his age, but he decided to ignore it and continue on with his mission. He was nearing the station and could see a vending machine. Reaching into his bag Rane grabbed a dollar put it into the machine and selected water. Out came a bottle of pure water. Twisting the cap off Rane took a drink and put the cap on and put the bottle in his bag. Next Rane climbed the stairs to the train station. He then went over to the booth and bought a ticket for 20 dollars to Westopolis and waited for the train to arrive.


	4. Chapter 4

**An Enigmatic Past** (Pt.4/Pt.3 continuation: Westopolis)

Rane watches as the train comes to a halt, stopping with a set of doors before his eyes. He boards the back car and puts his luggage in an overhead compartment. He then sits in his seat. Quickly the tired hedgehog goes to sleep, knowing that once he hits Westopolis, he's going to need all of his energy to just to make it through the day. The conductor outside makes his last call and then the door closes. Over the PA on the train, Rane can hear the statement: Train from Mystic Ruins to Westopolis, arrival time, 4 hours.

Rane awakens from his slumber, having slept for half of his journey. He decides to get up, looking down the narrow center of the railcar; Rane can see kids running down the aisles while their parents sleep.

"Great." He thinks to himself, "Why'd I get the car with the little kids."

Soon he falls back into his chair goes back to sleep. Hoping that he won't wake up until he arrives at his destination without irritation from the children at the front.

As quickly as the teenage hedgehog was asleep, he was awake again. This time the train was at a stop. Looking outside, Rane could see that the train was about twenty miles outside what appeared to be his destination. Wanting to know why the train had come to a sudden stop, Rane taps the arm of a man across from his seat.

"Hey mister, do you know why this train has stopped?" the hedgehog queries to the stranger.

"The conductor says we need to remain quiet and that situation is being negotiated." The man replies back to the hedgehog.

"Negotiations, what kind of situation are we in?"

Just as Rane's question was about to be answered, a gunshot is heard up in front. People go into panic and a man yelling can be heard in the front. Out from the front end three men can be seen through the glass doors that divide each car, two of the men are armed with submachine guns while the third is only carrying a pistol. All of them seem to be wearing full black body armor and combat boots. They continue to march down the cars until they reach the back one.

"Ok, everybody on the ground. Anything and everything worth of value should be placed in your seats, now!" One of men yells.

Everyone except Rane follows the terrorist orders. The hedgehog is unwilling to give into their demands and give up without a fight. Planning his strategy, Rane stares directly at the men. Knowing they probably won't take the immediate measures to counter the hedgehog's quick surprise attack, though his combat experience was fairly limited and he wasn't that skilled of a fighter.

"Sorry, can you repeat yourself. I have trouble listening to empty threats," Rane says arrogantly to his opponents.

"I said get on the ground and give up your valuables or I'll blow that cocky little mouth of yours off. Do you understand?" the man says holding his firearm out.

Rane quickly gives a grin and leaps from his seat landing a kick into the man's chest. He then pulls the firearm off of the man. It happened to be one of the submachine guns. He swiftly flips the switch over to single shot and points the gun directly at the terrorist's head.

"You guys want to leave or do I have to put a six inch hole in this man's head?" Rane asks the assailants, though he knew he couldn't kill the man due to the fact that he was truly bluffing. All he needed was for them to bite the bait.

Scared from the unexpected move and from inexperience. The men drop their weapons and flee from the car. Rane picks up the additional weapons and throws them to the back of the cart. He then moves his way up to the front of the train. Looking from left to right as he makes his way forward. He spots the man who had been shot; it was a minor graze and had appeared to be treated. Once at the front, Rane spots the conductor.

"Sir I've ended the crisis. We can continue our journey to Westopolis now." Rane states as he heads back to his seat.

At his seat Rane waits patiently for the train to start. It soon doe's, carrying it's passengers toward their final destination. From a distance, Rane can see that Westopolis is a thriving metropolitan city, filled with large skyscrapers and other assorted buildings.

With only an extra hour of delay, he had finally met his destination. Once the train came to a full stop, Rane exited his car with his bag and made his way through the Westopolis train station. It was larger than the one at the mystic ruins and more complex. The architecture of the station was that of large concrete ceilings with escalators leading up to the main city. Rane pushed through people, making his way onto one of the six escalators in the area.

Soon he was out in the city, hundreds of people hurried past the short hedgehog. Looking through a window at what appeared to be a TV store, Rane could see on the TVs was the 4 o'clock news. He walked into the store and watched, he watched until he saw the main story. Apparently it was about the incident on the train.

"Today's main story is one of great heroics, a single hedgehog onboard a incoming train from the Mystic Ruins fought three armed robbers and single-handedly defeated them. With an eyewitness is Wendy Stevenson." A female newscaster says.

"Thanks Barbara, now with the eyewitness. You say you saw this young hedgehog flip from his seat and stole a gun right from one of the terrorist hands?" Wendy asks.

"Damn straight I did, it was amazing. At first it looked like he was going to be dealt a bad hand with hot lead in his chest and in mere seconds the crimson hedgehog turned the tide. He had instantly resolved the situation with only a few moves and a cocky mouth. He told the men to leave and everyone was saved. This guy must of only been thirteen or fourteen." The eyewitness replies.

"Can you give us a description of this hedgehog?"

"Yes I can, he was about 3'5" looked to weigh only 70lbs or so. He was dressed in an azure blue t-shirt with a navy blue T shape running down the middle of the front of the shirt, white wristbands, brown shorts and dark brown leather moccasins. Also his eyes were like lightning."

"There you have it, the description of today's hero. Now back to you."

"Thanks Wendy."

As Rane was about to leave he saw three men come from behind him, all were dressed in black suits and wore sunglasses. They also were about the same height, six feet.

He began running down a the sidewalks for about two blocks before stopping to catch his breath. Looking behind him, he saw that they were still tailing him. Needing an escape Rane, spots a road filled with street vendors. Seeing a large crowd, he dashes into the middle hoping to hide from his unintentional followers. Feeling that he lost him he continues to one of the vendors selling food. It appeared to be shish kebab, pulling out the bit of money he has he spends $2 of it on some of the food and an iced tea.

Soon the thought comes to Rane that he needs to find a place to sleep. Seeing that he might have enough cash for a hotel room, he begins to wander up and down the streets of the city looking for a hotel.

After a couple of hours of wandering aimlessly, he finds a hotel. Opening the doors to the hotel, Rane finds a large waiting room along with a front desk that has a bell on it. No one seemed to manning the desk, so Rane rang the bell. Out came a tan man of around 5'8" dressed in brown bell-bottoms a formal white shirt and a red vest.

"How may I help you sir?" the man asked.

"I need a room for the night, are there any available?" Rane retorts.

"Why certainly and how long will you be staying?"

"Around a month."

"That's quite awhile, but I won't ask any further. And you're just in luck; we're having a deal on extended stays. You can have a room for that length at around $250. Will that be cash or credit?"

Retrieving money from his bag Rane hands the man $300. The man takes the money and puts it into the cash register handing the hedgehog his change. He then walks him to his room, opening the door and handing Rane a keycard.

"If there's anything you need, please feel free to call. We always have lines open for room service or any other possible questions. Also since you paid for an extended time, breakfast and dinner will be on the house. Please enjoy your stay at the Westopolis Grand Hotel."

Rane enters the room and closes the door behind him. In front are a bed, a T.V., a small mini-fridge, and a desk with a lamp on it. On his left is a small bathroom. He soon puts his bag on ground and walks toward the bed. Getting in he quickly falls asleep after a long day of excitement.


	5. Chapter 5

**An Enigmatic Past** (Pt. 5: Two Weeks Later)

_Two weeks had passed since Rane had entered Westopolis, his funds now running low_ _from useless tips off of doctors who seemed to have no clue about a cure for the blood disease. All the knowledge and facts were just history on it, basically stating that it had begun to appear only ten years ago. _

Rane was sitting at the desk in his room; he had almost spent all of his money to taxi himself around Westopolis looking for doctors to help him. Unfortunately none had seemed to have any answers. Currently he was looking through the web trying to find articles on anything that might help. He continued to search, until he came across an old news article about a former G.U.N. research facility located in outer space, apparently called the Ark. Nothing much was said, just that an accident had happened on board that end in casualties. It was unfortunate that it was shut down almost 50 years ago; due to the fact that medical research that could've benefited the medical field and help cure Rane's disease might've been taking place aboard. Rane decided not to delve further; seeing as how the colony was no longer in operation it was of no use to the hedgehog to learn anything about it. Rane shut down his laptop and placed it in his bag. He then got up and started for the door of his room. Before he left he grabbed a metal baton that he'd bought in case anyone tried to jump him. The clothing he had worn to Westopolis was in his bag; he now wore more modern clothing to blend in. In particular he was dressed in sleeveless navy blue shirt over top of it was a black hoodie. He also wore baggy tan cargo pants, along with red sneakers. Over his eyes he wore a pair of reflective sunglasses to cover his eyes. Soon he was out the door and down the stairs as he was reaching the end the man at the front desk called him over.

"Hello sir, I'm sorry to have to say this but the hotel had to end the deal early. Not enough people were jumping on. What I mean to say is, this weekend will be your last stay. I'm sorry for your unfortunate luck. I hope you enjoy your remaining 2 days." The man said with a false smile, trying to hide emotions of sympathy.

"I see, well I don't blame you. And I would like to thank you for the hospitality. I guess things will just be a little tight from now on." Rane said as he left the building.

He was soon out into the midday of the thriving metropolis, looking around he saw thousands of people just walking all around. The skyscrapers helped to sculpt the beauty of the city. Rane stopped looking at the surrounding, knowing full well what his situation was now. Soon he would be living on the streets barely surviving amongst the countless number of homeless who filled the streets at night, begging for money just to get by. Though today and the next two, he would at least have a place to stay. His mission right now was to meet with a doctor located on the east side of the city, as he understood he would be walking through a myriad of back alleys just to get to this doctor's house. The crimson hedgehog began his route to the doctor's house by starting with one of the many alleyways.

Only around twenty minutes had passed and Rane was already feeling uneasy. His senses told him that caution was the best choice as he was beginning to come across the longest alleyway and the one that would lead him to the doctor's home. Just as he was reaching the end, a quick snap and the sound of metal beating against a dumpster was heard.

"Hey you, turn around and come over here! Your money is ours!" Someone shouted.

Rane spun around to see three men. All of them were dressed in a punk fashion of studded leather vest, torn jeans, black leather boots and outlandishly dyed hair. The leader apparently was a scrawny looking guy with a chain in his hand. He also had a Mohawk that was only dyed a single color, a deep purple. Probably somehow signifying his importance. The other two just had long hair down to the middle of their backs that was dyed an assortment of greens, purples, and oranges. One carried a 2x4 with a nail and the other held a switchblade.

"I have no time to bother with you, I was planning to meet with someone today." Rane stated calmly.

"I'm hoping, it wasn't that doctor that lives on this street. Cause we just robbed his ass only about an hour ago. That guys dead or lying in a hospital wishing he was." The leader said in cocky tone toward Rane.

"Well, I guess you three just pressed your luck too far!" Rane yelled as he rushed toward the men, pulling his black steel baton and extending it out.

The guy holding the 2x4 took the first swing at the hedgehog, but missed due to the hedgehog's faster reaction. Rane rolled off of the man spinning to face his back and took an all out swing putting the guy down instantly. The next guy to come at him was the one with switchblade who attacked with an assortment of quick thrusts and slashes. Rane managed to counter a hit and jumped to kick the man to the ground. Just as he was going to put the guy out of the fight, the leader came and blindsided Rane using his chain to choke him from behind. Rane tried to fight the man, but was having difficulty overcoming the man's overpowering grip. As he was beginning to black out, his baton fell from his hand. Rane's strength was almost spent when an idea came to him. The man who had been carrying the switchblade was back up, a perfect moment for the hedgehog to execute his plan. He was soon rushed; the thrust of the knife came quick. It barely scratched Rane, as he lifted his body up. Soon a scream was heard and blood could be seen dripping to the grown. The man who had his grip on Rane now dropped him. In an instant the tides had been turned. The man with switchblade had stabbed his leader and was looking over the body. In a rage he came furiously running toward the hedgehog. He once again tried to hit him, but all his energy was spent from the moment in which he had tried to kill Rane. Rane dropped below the man's thrust, put his leg between his opponent's legs and threw him to the ground. Then he went over picked up his baton, only to go back and break the man's wrist, destroying all the nerves located there.

"Let that be a lesson to you and your group. Your actions caused you this pain, I hope you can live with it." Rane says as he walks away towards the hotel, pushing his baton back in.

He was now back in his room, an unfortunate string of events had left him no closer to achieving his goal. The men who had maimed the doctor who might've had the answers only depressed him further. Feeling the loss of hope was overwhelming, an emotion he wished he never had to feel. Tears came pouring from the hedgehog's eyes as he cried over the guilt feeling that he had failed not only himself, but his dear mother too. The pain was hardly bearable, a feeling that he never wanted to feel again. As quickly as the tears had come, they stopped. He then wiped the remnants away with the back of his hand and stood up. Feeling determined and not wanting to have the emotional pain come back, Rane jumped into his bed and went to sleep. He knew his adventure for what seemed like a quest for the Holy Grail was only beginning and that the day would come for when he would have the cure.


	6. Chapter 6

**An Enigmatic Past **( pt.6: The first meeting/A new beginning)

A month has passed and the crimson hedgehog is living in an alley, sleeping under a makeshift blanket of what used to be his old clothing. He is malnourished and in desperate need of water. Barely surviving by a thread, two men in black suits approach him. Both are wearing black suits and have their hair shaved off. One pulls out what seems to be a baton, the other draws a gun.

"You're a hard one to find, you know that you little punk." The one with the gun says, "Our boss wants you to pay for what you did on that train."

Rane looks over to see who's speaking; it appears to be two of the three men he had fought only a month ago. He studies their movements, he can tell their intentions and they weren't ones of any kind of peace offering, but ones that had the intent to kill. The crimson hedgehog knew he was in no condition to fight either of them, though he knew he couldn't give up. The cure for his and his mother's disease rested on his shoulders. He soon stood up, taking a fighting stance with his knees bent and his hands at his bloodstained baton that he held in his offhand. Rane understood that he only had energy for around 10 well placed moves before his body would give out. His first move would have to come off of retracting the baton to strike the man with the gun to rid him of that problem. His next moves would have to be well placed strikes, he couldn't allow himself to take a hit or waste moves blocking. All his moves would have to be hits to vital areas. He knew that he could only use five of the moves, knowing that he'd need energy to run.

Rane makes his first move, first pulling his arm back and then slinging it forward to release the rest of his baton. The first hit makes contact with the wrist of the man holding the gun. Rane watches as the gun drops and the man clutches at his hand, the next move the hedgehog jumps onto his first opponent's back and leaps over the his second opponent. Pulling his baton over his head, Rane begins to bring it down like a hammer attempting to hit his second opponent directly over his head. With ease, his opponent sidesteps and lifts his baton to hit block, knocking the hedgehog back. He then pulls a knife out and rushes forward, planning to pull a double hit. Rane jumps to his feet, ducks and spins to deliver a hit to the man's knees, crushing both of his kneecaps. Just as Rane's about to leave, a limousine pulls in and five more men dressed in the same fashion rush from the doors and the pull their side arms out, aiming right at the hedgehog. The next man to reveal himself is dressed in black slacks, a pinstriped tuxedo vest with a white shirt underneath and a black bowtie, along with a black trench coat and fedora. His hair is long and black, dressed in a ponytail. The most identifying feature was a scar on his right side that came over his steel gray eyes. On his belt were two butterfly knives at both of his sides.

"I must congratulate you, I did not expect you to win again in your condition. Though seeing as how you're someone who has defeated my men twice, I can only view you as an enemy. But I will make you this one offer, you can join me and live or you can throw away your life. I know what it is you search for, seeing as I've had men following you since you got here. I can offer you the opportunity to find this cure, but you must offer me your loyalty. You must dedicate yourself to helping me creating my ideal world." The man said in a calm manner toward his prospect.

"And you promise to help me find the cure, how do I know I can trust you?" Rane retorts with a hint of anger in his voice to the man's offer.

"Because, I would let you keep your life. Also, I came for you. Let me give you an idea of my plan. We want to get the access codes to the Ark so that we can do research. With this facility in operation, we can help you find your cure. The only thing I ask of you is for your complete loyalty to my cause for the remainder of your existence."

"I see, so I'd be a servant to your cause for my entire life. Though you'd help me retrieve a cure. So far, I'm not liking the idea."

"Well how about this one, we lay your village in the Mystic Ruins to waste and murder everyone there including your mother. Now do you see? I don't ever grant a person a one-way deal without finding out all of his dirty little secrets. I know what you love most and I'll take it all away, along with your pathetic life."

Rane can only see the one option, knowing that he can't allow his mother to die needlessly by some aggressive thug and his band of mercenaries. Knowing that he has to make his sacrifice, Rane bows his head for a second of deep thought and rises again.

"I'll do it. I won't let the people of my village die by your hand, but let this be known to you. The minute you drop your guard and you will, your life is forfeit. Also if a cure is found, I want to return to my village to cure my mother." Rane says solemnly as he walks towards the man.

"Ha, such fire in your eyes! Who knows, maybe you'll be able to join my most elite group, the Trinity of Twilight. Though, that's only if you turn out good enough in your training. I welcome you to the Organization."

The two get inside of the limousine, along with the rest of the group and are driven to the Organization's base, which happens to be the tallest skyscraper in all of Westopolis. Once there, the limo drives into what appears to be a three car-parking garage. A door drops down and then floor begins to descend. The limo is now underground in a secret garage. All of the men, including Rane and the unknown boss get out. The boss then goes over and whispers into the ears of one of his subordinates.

"Follow me, you will be staying in a second level room in Infinity Tower." The man says as he takes Rane over to an elevator and presses the button for the second floor.

The elevator then comes to a halt and Rane is escorted to a room. On the door is the room number, B-214. The man unlocks the door with a key card and hands the key to Rane. His new room is small and contains a twin-sized bed, a small analog television, a bathroom with shower and toilet, a mini-fridge, and a desk. The outline was that of a small apartment room,

"Dinner is served between 6 and 8 PM. Breakfast is at 6AM to 9AM. And lunch is served around 12-4PM. Tomorrow your training will begin; you will receive all of your training gear, along with formal civilian attire. Make sure you get some rest; you're going to need it. Also I will be your instructor from now on, so be prepared. Who knows maybe, you will make it into the Trinity." The man says as he walks away, closing the door behind him.

Rane walks over to the mini-fridge and opens up the door to find bottles of water stored inside. He pulls one out and closes the door and twists the cap off. Rane finishes the water off and stores the bottle back in the fridge. He then walks over to the bed and goes to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**An Enigmatic Past **(pt.7: A test of the Conscious)

_Already almost a year has passed and so far the young hedgehog has survived his training. The setting is that of a dark room, all of the 80 trainees are dressed in their black trainer jumpsuits, black shoes, and black gloves, and on the jumpsuit is a yellow ring to symbolize their status, while student instructors wore blue, and instructors weren't held to the standard, though some wore red. Rane is sitting close to center, focusing in on every word his teacher has to say. His teacher is a top agent, part of the special assassination group, known as the Trinity of Twilight. His name is Nero and he is dressed in an unorthodox style, almost like he'd been born of the mystic ruins himself, he is of a maroon color with white stripes around his quills, he is only slightly taller than Rane, though appears to weigh less. His specialty is that of psychological operations, along with this he possesses the ability to create illusions using his chaos._

"Listen up and this is especially to those of you who plan to get into the Trinity. The first thing to defeating any enemy is figuring out his consciousness and subconscious actions. Once this is known, he becomes nothing more than simple prey, the only thing you have to do is choose the moment in which to strike. As for your training exercise, today you will all be going through a series of three tests. The first one has to deal with working as a team. You will all be put into groups of three, each given a secret codeword. If any of you at any moment give up the codeword, you will fail. Since all of you will be put in separate rooms, the first two to fail will repeat this exercise, while the last will continue on. If all of you maggots can last together for 30 minutes, then all of you pass. If two of you last 20 minutes you two will pass, and the person who quit will repeat. Do I make myself clear?" Nero says in stern manner.

"Yes instructor!" the trainees shout in unison.

"Ok, then all of you follow the student instructors over to the rooms. You will be blindfolded, given your word and sent through the test. By the way, none of you will know who's in your group. So trust will be key, along with loyalty."

The group quickly lines up and moves swiftly down until all are blindfolded with a black cold wet cloth. As Rane is split off into a room, he is told the word pendulum as his codeword. He is then shoved into a room where his interrogation begins.

"Ah nice to meet you, we wish not to harm you or your comrades." The man speaks with a thick tone in his voice, "But we need the password you were given by your government. You can trust us, we promise you amnesty into our country if you cooperate. Though if you don't, this could very well be a long day for you."

Soon Rane can feel as water begins to drip from above, water torture seemed to be the first, along with the psychological pandering. Rane so far felt that holding out shouldn't be a problem. He quickly put a smirk on his face and responded, "Well, ideally I haven't the slightest notion as to what you are concerning me with. I'm just a tourist wishing to photograph the beautiful countryside."

Anger soon came to the instructor as he struck the student with a wooden baton across his knuckles, before walking behind and kicking the back of the chair forcing Rane to the ground. He then bent down beside his injured captor and spoke again.

"I'm sorry to have to treat you so harshly friend, but you're not cooperating. If you wish to come out of this room with only these few bruises, then please cooperate. We are trying to be as hospitable as possible."

Rane knew that each sentence was nothing but lies. He was trying to get the young hedgehog to cooperate more easily. Though he knew if he kept calm and kept to his story he could last, that was only if they didn't pull some piece of evidence that would link him to the Organization.

"I'm sorry, but like I said. I'm just a simple photographer." The hedgehog responded quickly, while still grimacing from the pain.

"Fine you want to play it tough, then we will. Our hospitality has ended, we'll force it out of you until you die. Even if you don't give it to us, we know one of your comrades will." The instructor says as he pulls out a rope and begins choking Rane to the point of almost blacking out, he then takes his baton and begins swinging it across his student, striking anywhere from the chest to his hands. He then pulls a cigarette out and then lights, and pushes it into Rane's neck.

"Once again, I ask you what is the code. I am getting furious with your lack of cooperation, already your comrades have told us their parts. Give in and you may leave as is, I am being honest with you, now you should be honest with me! We know your name Rane!"

Rane just chuckles slightly and then spits into his interrogator's face. Though wondering if the instructor is lying or telling the truth, he doesn't care. He must survive this test and continue on.

"How about you just go kick a dead horse, I mean figuratively that's all your doing dumb ass." Rane retorts with a hint of arrogance in his voice, his ego only angering the interrogator.

In another room behind a glass window, the instructor Nero walks in and sits down in a nearby chair. "How long has this one been going and what's his team's current situation?"

"The other two have given up sir, even though this has been stated this trainee continues on. I'm curious as to why they're allowed to continue, he's been in there for nearly fifteen minutes." One of the student instructors responds.

"They continue, because I asked them to. In this situation I just want to test how long they'll hold out, if they'll still make it to thirty minutes, even though it doesn't matter." Nero explains the group inside, "If this one can, then maybe he can replace me someday.

Back in the room, the beatings have become more severe and water is now being forced down Rane's throat, still he continues on. His body though is becoming immensely fatigued and his mind is starting to crack. The only thing that holds him together is a sense of loyalty to his teammates, especially if they haven't given up.

"I've told you, this will only get worst for you. Though I must admit, I can begin to see your will fading. Your facial expressions and the condition you are in, give it away." The instructor taunts.

Rane just takes in a large breath of air, spits out the blood that has come from his nostrils into his mouth. He just stares into the dark cloth and says to himself, _I believe this is the end of the line_.

"You want your damn word, then have it. Its up yours, you stupid fool!" Rane yells as he braces for the next hit. Though none come, a buzzer goes off and the blindfold is removed. He is then helped to his feet and in front of him is the instructor, Nero.

"Well I must say I'm quite surprised, I never expected anyone to last 22 minutes of that and be the only one left, though we always expect 2 people of the team to fail and the last give up the word almost immediately after. You I must say lasted without giving up the word. The challenge is over, though this was only the first. We'll get you cleaned up and ready for the next." Nero says as he walks toward the center and pulls out a microphone and begins talking over a P.A., "For those of you who passed you will continue on, you will be taken to the next room where you will be given further instructions. For those of you that failed, you will be taken back to your rooms and given the date in which you'll retest."

Rane is guided into his next room; he is quickly wiped down with ointment and given a towel to wipe himself off. He is then given the instructions, his test this time is to play a game of chess against another randomly chosen trainee over a computer screen. All of the trainees are given a list of clues about their opponents' strengths and weaknesses. Six in all, though three are lies. Through this game Rane must discern his opponent's strengths and weaknesses by trying to use clues from the game. The clues Rane is given is timid, overaggressive, slow thinker, fast reaction, arrogant, genius. Rane takes a seat and starts the game. He is chosen as white and his opponent is given first move. The first move is quick, a pawn from B7 to B5. Rane knows the first move in the game is not necessarily a clue, so Rane makes his first move. He moves his knight into position from B1 to A3.

After several minutes of play and pieces captured on both sides, Rane has narrowed down his opponent's strengths and weakness. His weaknesses appear to be him being timid, arrogant, slow thinker. Though if his opponent were a genius, then it would be easy for him to disguise his true motives. Rane looks at the board; his queen is in position for a strike, though first he has to draw his opponent in. Rane makes his move, his bishop from H4 to H5. His opponent quickly looks at this as an opportunity and moves his rook down to take the piece, leaving his king unguarded. Quickly Rane grabs hold of the situation and moves his queen in. It's a checkmate, after a little over 30 minutes of game play. Rane wins, though barely, after looking at his pieces he can see his opponent in fact was a genius, though he didn't calculate Rane's move in. A door opens up in the back of the small computer room and Rane is pull from his seat and taken into the next room. In front of him is a wooden desk with packet of paper and a pencil next to it. He quickly sits down in a plastic seat and looks over the packet. It appears to be a combination of some sort of psychological evaluation, an IQ test, and a precognitive ability test. Rane guessed that the last two were unimportant and were just used for determining job placement within the Organization; it was the psych evaluation, which was important. Though from a quick overview, it wasn't testing Rane's psychology but his ability to determine his opponent's just from reading an overview on the person's battle tactics, background and history, and overall personality. From what he could guess, this was the way the organization developed assassins and spies, people who could read emotions well and know how to act on them. Rane went through the assortment of questions, ranging from fake battles with opponents to determining who in a room was his target. After around twenty minutes, Rane finished the complete test. He was then taken to a room where he waited another thirty minutes for his results. On the packet handed to him was the word pass in bold red capital letters. Rane read the overview; apparently his IQ was 142, basically a borderline genius. He was classified as highly intelligent, very analytical, and of medium precognitive ability. Though his weaknesses listed him as arrogant, egotistical, tends to be reckless. On the last line of the overview was written in bold lettering, **to be given special training**. Probably meaning that he might be placed in the Organizations top group, the Trinity of Twilight.

After around twenty minutes given to read their overviews, all of the members were instructed by Nero that they were free to deal with the rest of their day as they pleased. Rane quickly headed over to the chow hall to begin eating his meal after a long day of work. Afterwards he headed back to his room, freshened up and headed to bed to find what awaited him the next day.


	8. Chapter 8

**An Enigmatic Past **(pt.8: The Final Test)

_A year had finally passed since Rane had begun his training with the organization. Though after his initial mental assessment only a few months ago, he'd begun special training to join the elite soldiers of the Organization and someday be given a chance to join the Trinity of Twilight. He had proved promising as a student in that he soaked in the information, but he tended to anger his instructors with his conceitedness and general recklessness. They knew he was a gambler, but Rane had proven to be extremely clutch, coming out of the most difficult situations with just instincts alone. Today was different as it was his final day of training. This was his chance to prove himself worthy of becoming an elite member of the Organization._

Rane stands in his black training jumpsuit in the center of a rather large room. Above him are stands in which instructors holding out PDAs will begin to take notes. Rane has undergone extensive combat training, including firearms and close quarters weapons. Along with this he has the ability to use chaos, preferably lightning, which he became quite talented with. The hedgehog only waits, the black walls appearing to be nothing more than open space. And the steel floors, all set one foot by one foot, 100 horizontal, 100 vertical. Rane is armed with a .45 caliber pistol and a steel katana.

"Rane, are you prepared for your final examination?" One of the instructors says.

The crimson hedgehog only nods, as he places his hand on his katana and prepares for a fight. He is slightly nervous, but quickly draws on his arrogance to build a confident ego.

Doors open up all around, just 10 simple G.U.N humanoid model robots. All of them draw their beam rifles and begin opening fire on Rane, but the hedgehog proves too quick as a flash of light erupts from his palms and creating a radius of lightning eliminating the simple robots. The next enemies to come in wave are a group of assassin androids dressed in full black, one appears to be programmed as the leader, carrying a large dai-katana. Rane rushes several of the bots, using lightning infused strikes to disable them, before finishing them off with his katana. After a series of quick movements and precise strikes Rane finishes off the subordinates. The leader dashes quickly, his dai-katana fixated to his left side. He comes with a fast thrust, though Rane blocks with his sheath and slides under delivering a staggering uppercut to the android. As the android soars through the air, he flips and lands on his feet. This time he fires a sound wave in Rane's direction. Unable to see the move, Rane is blown back and the android lunges quickly to impale the hedgehog in his right side forcing him to drop his weapon.

Rane is now bleeding though refuses to cover up his injury. He soon charges chaos into his body and takes more quickly then before and begins to deliver strikes all over his opponents steel body, eventually crushing precious circuitry. The final strike is a kick infused with lightning. This attack destroys his electronic opponent and finishes the fight.

"So, is this your best or do you have more? Because I'm not even tired yet." Rane shouts arrogantly toward his instructors as he picks up his blade off the floor.

"This is only the beginning." One of the instructors says as he and a five others jump down revealing katanas of their own. "Now you must fight us, defeat us and you will be granted acceptance into the Organization's elite.

All of them are dressed in their black jump suits, but wear white trench coats over them. Soon walls appear all around, a maze of some sort seems to have been erected instantly. The lights dim, making sight almost useless. The setting for the final fight is set. Rane has only one chance at making it.

The hedgehog begins to wander slowly, using his hearing to pickup any incoming sound. A patter of quick footsteps can be heard and a shimmer of light reflects off a blade. Rane draws his katana to block the hit and then counters using the back of the blade to incapacitate his opponent. Sounds come from both sides as the noise from people dropping can be heard. Rane crouches down, sheathing his katana and preparing to make a strike. The sound of walking becomes louder as his two opponents approach. Rane waits until he can feel his opponents breathing on him. He then makes his move, drawing his katana quickly and spinning to make strikes to both opponents. They're only incapacitated as Rane barely slashes into their bodies. Only two remain, the leading instructor and his subordinate. Rane begins move quickly, jumping from wall to wall. He purposely makes noise, hoping to attract the attention of one of his foes. Rane stops and silently waits, the sound of running is now heard and incoming quickly. A glimmer of steel and his opponent makes a lunge. Rane sidesteps and slashes down breaking his opponent's weapon in half. After that, he thrust the hilt into his opponent's gut knocking him unconscious. As he sheaths his sword, the lead instructor makes his move dropping from atop. Rane rolls out of the way and creates a barrier of lightning to keep his distance. The hedgehog can see his opponent rushing forward in the glimpse of the light. With barely enough time to draw his sword, Rane reaches for his gun and fires a shot at his opponent's hand causing him to drop his sword. His opponent quickly reacts with a blast of chaos knocking the hedgehog into a wall. Rane just allows his body to fly normally before hitting the ground and rolling only to find his opponent readying another strike. Rane just removes his sheath and throws it. Not expecting the move the instructor is forced to cut the sheath in half. This gives Rane enough time to kick the instructor to the ground. Rane then slices at the instructor's hand, cutting it clean off and knocking the sword out of his hand. Rane then holds his blade to his throat.

"I believe I've passed, now if you don't mind I wish for you to turn off this program so I can leave to more important business." Rane says throwing his katana to the ground.

The simulation soon, ends and Rane finds the instructors circled around him as they were before. No one appears harm, as the final test was just an illusion. The lead instructor walks toward the hedgehog holding his hand out in congratulations. Rane ignores the handshake and begins walking off.

"You may have passed and became an elite member, but your arrogance will surely bar you from your goal of being in the Trinity." The instructor says.

"I don't need the Trinity to accomplish my goal and we'll see if you prove right. Though I doubt it." Rane says with a smirk on his face as he exits the proving ground.

That night he returns to bed, knowing that he is closer to his goal of curing his disease. The thought of healing his mom's wounds and his own only brings happiness to his mind as he quickly fades into a state of unconsciouness.


End file.
